Brand new tires just rotated for first time

[Mark72]

I own a 95 Chevy Lumina and just put 4 brand new tires on it 5000 miles ago (Bridgestone Ecopias). My question really has nothing to do with the brand. When I had the tires installed the shop did a complete alignment on it which I requested since new tires were going on it. During the first 5k prior to rotation the alignment seemed to be right on. I felt zero pull from the steering wheel toward one side or the other. Now...post rotation, the vehicle still handles fine however, when I let go of the wheel, the car seems to want to drift EVER so slightly to the left. For a while I thought maybe it was only in my head and at times would put the driver side wheels on the right side of the crown on a road and the car would drift right which tells me if the alignment were off, it must not be that bad, but 90% of the time if I let go of the wheel it very slowly will drift left. Is this normal after the first rotation on brand new set of tires assuming that perhaps not all 4 tires are going to wear EXACTLY the same, especially on a front wheel drive car?

 

[QuOk]

Check the tire pressures.

 

[Mark72]

Originally Posted By: QuOk
Check the tire pressures.


Did that already. I’m very anal about keeping my tires inflated to spec. Car requires 30psi when cold. I always fill them cold and set each one at 32 PSI.

 

[stranger706]

I'd say its normal. If its not normal, then its at least very common. No tire expert but I see this a lot with my own vehicles. It drives me crazy. Makes me not want to ever rotate. I hate how it changes the way the car drives for a few thousand miles until the new wear pattern settles in. Then it starts all over again next rotation...I'm starting to think its not worth the hassle.

 

[HerrStig]

IF yo are not using "high performance" alignment settings, and the tires are showing even wear (IF) then rotation might be "optional" .

 

[Mark72]

Ask you guys this... I just called the shop and they said if it’s ever so slight, it could be radial pull. (I’m completely aware of what this is) They said Bridgestone does not warrant this issue because it causes not premature wear of the tire. The shop also recommended I could bring it in and they could cross just the front tires to see if this solves it (I might do that). But he also said as far as rotating them in the future, they only go front to back and not crossing them which I found strange because I watched the guy cross them when I did the first rotate. They are non-directional tire so they can be crossed, but he said they typically recommend just going front to back. Is this the same process you all are aware of as well in so far as just rotating front to back even if it is a directional tire?

 

[Hokiefyd]

It sounds like you could use a little more toe in on the front. Your front toe sounds like it's pretty neutral, which is good for tire wear but not as good for directional stability.

 

[Mark72]

But on non-directional tires is the new method typically to just go front to back instead of the old way of crossing them?

 

[PZR2874]

Originally Posted By: Mark72
But on non-directional tires is the new method typically to just go front to back instead of the old way of crossing them?


This is what I do. Dryrot happens before you get the miles out of the car in my experience in S TX

 

[daman]

It's Tire pull, your tires(tread area) are ever so slightly worn in one direction they make the car pull some now that there in a new spot,give it time it will stop doing that as the tire wears in it's new location.

 

[mrsilv04]

Have the shop put the tires back where they were, and drive it a few days.

That'll tell you if it was an issue with the move of the tires, or an issue with the alignment work.

 

[CapriRacer]

OK, time for my lecture on conicity - root word "cone".

Tires have a lot of properties and one of them is conicity. It's the sideways force a tire generates when it is traveling straight down the road. Conicity can be either positive or negative - that is the force can push to the left or to the right - and it varies from tire to tire.

What's important is not the conicity of an individual tire, but the vector difference of the 2 front tires.

Vehicles are sensitive to certain levels of conicity - and this varies from model to model. Some vehicles are quite sensitive - and are quite insensitive. Plus mis-alignment can affect a vehicle's sensitivity.

So let's say you have a vehicle that is sensitive to 10 (arbitrary) units, and you have a pair of front tires with conicity values of -6 and +3 = vector difference of 9. No pull.

But with a pair of tires of -6 and +6 = vector difference of 12. Slight pull.

So the standard test is to swap both front tires - left to right.

1) If the pull completely changes direction, it's 100% the tires.

2) If the pull doesn't change at all, it's 100% the vehicle.

3) If the pull disappears or changes (other than a compete change of direction), then it's both the vehicle and the tires.

You should be aware that conicity can be worn into a tire - which is why there is no warranty for pull except shortly after installation.

 

[randomhero439]

Pattern C is for FWD cars

If the tires are directional, just go front to back, no crossing

 

[JamesBond]

I often notice new sounds, or the car pulling a bit when I rotate tires and think that its normal, and it usually seems to go away. I think that this is the reason you rotate them regularly instead of every 25,000 miles. I would leave them where they are.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

My steering wheel is off center with the winterfoces. Tread depth is the same, pressure is the same ... just they pull and the steering wheel is off a bit.

 

[oldhp]

+1 on radial pull.
+1 on tire PSI.
I always use "C" when rotating.
On pulling left, bad=headon crash. Do whatever needs done to fix that. I'd rather have slight pull right, then it's just me gets hurt.

 

[bigjl]

Those are interesting diagrams.

Not much good for me as I tend to go for difectional tread patterns.

The Clio has asymmetric tyres but I just swapped them front to back each side, luckily no issues.



Will certainly keep it in mind for the Pathfinder as I don't think the current tyres are asymmetric or directional.

The Taxi it makes no difference what you do to it. You could put a cartwheel on one corner and it would likely still drive the same!

 

[mechtech2]

There must have been a bit of normal uneven wear on a tire or two.
BUT, it may be right now, and was off before!
Why? A car that is aligned properly WILL drift slightly to the low side of the road crown.
Remember, we can't drive the car, see the tires, or know where you drive.

 

[Mark72]

If I tire has a slight radial pull due to a belt in the tire will it cause the tire to wear unevenly? My shop told me it will not, but want other opinions.

 

[Mark72]

Well, I called I different tire shop in town and got a 2nd opinion on this radial pull I have. The recommended if its slight to just cross the front tires. AND, they also recommend rotating front to back even on front wheel drive cars and NOT crossing them. They said that even there the front pass wheel is the pull-wheel, the tire will not wear any faster than the others unless you are drag racing the stupid thing so they only rotate fronts to back. I went in and had the front wheels crossed and instantly when I drove out the alignment was back to perfect again. Do you agree with their methodology of rotating front to back?